David Cox, Area Propertymark's chief executive, said the latest figures "indicate that power in the rental market could be shifting towards tenants".

However, he also warned that this power shift could be short-lived, saying: "It’s more likely that this is indicative of the time of year and come the New Year, we’ll see rent prices starting to creep up again."

"There’s no real way of avoiding it unfortunately," Cox added, "with landlords facing continued regulatory change, increasing costs will be passed on to tenants. Those who don’t pass the costs on will eventually have to exit the market, which will increase competition and boost prices. It’s the ultimate 'lose, lose' situation."

Back in August, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicted that rents in the UK are set to rise by 15% in the next five years because of a shortfall in available rental properties.

RICS attributed this shortfall to the government's decision to reduce tax relief on buy-to-let properties, making them less appealing to investors. This policy is supposed to make properties more affordable for first-time buyers, but could actually cause prices to rise unless the government builds more affordable and social housing, RICS warned.